Ring Offers Doorbells, Floodlights, and More

Ring Offers Doorbells, Floodlights, and More

By Rose Thibodeaux - 01/16/2018

I’ve been a Ring owner since late 2015, and I’m still a fan. Since then, the game has changed with new additions like Ring Pro, Stick Up Cam, Stick Up Cam Elite, Ring Beam, Floodlight Cam, Ring Elite, Ring Video Doorbell 2, Spotlight Cam, and Ring Protect.

(Ring Doorbell was gifted to me for testing in 2015. My hands-on experience at CES with the other Ring devices was self-funded. I also purchased Spotlight Cam and the solar panel. This did not impact my opinion, but I thought you should know.)

Ring’s Family of Cameras

All of Ring’s cameras are made to work together, but they all serve a unique purpose. The idea isn’t to pick one over the other but to use them together to protect your home from the outside in. As another layer of protection, Ring Secure uses sensors to detect intrusion.

Ring Floodlight Cam

I met Floodlight Cam during CES 2017, and I was pretty excited. The camera is reminiscent of Sengled or even Kuna as it combines the power of a security camera with the power of smart lighting, two effective home security forces.

Ring has thought beyond the typical to outfit the device with several new security features. First of all, Floodlight Cam includes person and object detection. Not to be confused with facial recognition, person detection can’t identify who a person is, just that they are indeed a person. However, it’s a feature that makes motion alerts more intelligent and helps cut down on time spent watching footage of trees swaying in the wind. Second, it is the only Ring device which includes a 110-decibel siren. Finally, the 3K lumen LED lights are motion activated and app-controlled.

The lights inside Floodlight Cam are smart lights. You can schedule them to turn on and off at certain times. You can even schedule them to turn on at dusk and off at dawn directly from the Ring mobile app. Finally, you can turn them on or off on-demand from anywhere.

The Floodlight Cam doesn’t have as many compatibilities as Ring’s Video Doorbells, but it has some, including Stringify and IFTTT. Both allow you to integrate the camera into scenes and rules. Within Stringify, for example, you can choose from two triggers: motion is detected and motion is detected with video, and you can choose from two actions: turn on Ring Floodlight and turn off Ring Floodlight. The Floodlight Cam can also stream footage to Amazon Echo Show, Echo Spot, or any Alexa-enabled device with a screen.

The downside to Ring Floodlight Cam is that it’s a floodlight. Though Ring will ship everything you need for a successful install, it still requires that you replace an existing wired floodlight. The camera will connect to any standard junction box to help simplify installation, but it still might be a challenge for some, like me.

Ring Spotlight Cam

If you’d rather avoid the trouble of installing Floodlight Cam, then perhaps you’re better off with the Ring Spotlight Cam.

Spotlight Cam is Ring’s latest outdoor camera that comes in wired, mount, battery-powered, and solar-powered versions. All four versions are designed for outdoor use as they are all weatherproof and can survive sub-zero temps.

Unlike Floodlight Cam, Spotlight Cam is easier to install (with the exception of the Mount version). Simply mount it to a wall, and plug it in, assuming you are using the wired version ($199). Ring also sells a solar powered version ($229) as well as a battery-powered version ($199). Solar and battery are the same cameras. The only difference is that bundling your purchase of the camera with the solar panel saves a little bit of money.

Besides their power source, there are a couple of other differences between the cameras. The wired and mount versions support Motion Zones. You can identify areas within the camera’s field of view that you want to monitor while ignoring other areas. They also support light schedules. If you own the battery-powered version, your lights can turn on automatically when motion is detected. You can even turn the lights on manually from within the mobile app.

No matter which version you choose, Spotlight offers FHD 1080p video, a 140° wide-angle lens, night vision, and two-way audio. The cameras also come equipped with a siren; however, the siren will not sound automatically. Instead, you are responsible for triggering the siren when needed.

Ring Stick Up Cam V1 vs. V2

Ring Stick Up Cam has been around for a while and it will soon be revamped. The first version is an outdoor, wire-free camera that you can mount anywhere you have an internet connection. Ring Stick Up Cam V1 monitors for motion and does so using a smaller field of view as compared to other Ring cameras.

The major downside to Stick Up Cam V1, like other battery-operated cameras, is that the charge will only last so long. The good news is that if you don’t want to take it down to charge, you can purchase the solar charging panel ($49) to keep it fired up. The panel connects to Stick Up via a micro USB cable and uses sunlight to keep the camera’s battery charged.

While you can use Stick Up V1 inside, it is made to be used outdoors. However, Stick Up Cam V2 is made to be used inside or out. The new camera, launching soon, comes in two versions: Stick Up Cam and Stick Up Cam Elite. The difference between the two versions is how they are powered. Stick Up Cam is a battery-powered camera where Stick Up Cam Elite uses a standard wall outlet for power or PoE (power over Ethernet). Both versions offer two-way audio, 1080p FHD video (V1 is 720p), motion detection, and zone detection. Like V1, V2 will work with a solar panel. Pricing on the new Stick Up Cam is TBD.

Ring Video Doorbells

What makes the Ring Video Doorbells different from the other Ring cameras is pretty obvious, they’re doorbells. To help protect your home, they connect to your home’s WiFi and send notifications when they detect motion or when someone rings your doorbell.

The first significant difference between the four is how they are installed. All four doorbell options can be hardwired into your existing doorbell wires and will use your existing doorbell chime. If you don’t have an existing doorbell, your options are the original Ring Video Doorbell or the newer Ring Video Doorbell 2, as they can run on battery power. Also, Ring Elite is a flush-mount doorbell. At CES I was told that Elite is best for new home builders or contractors because you do have to cut a hole to flush-mount the doorbell. The doorbell fits inside a standard sized junction box. The second feature that sets Elite apart from the other doorbells is that it uses PoE (Power over Ethernet). Using PoE is smart, very smart. It will improve Elite’s performance as it no longer relies on your wireless internet connection and will be less impervious to bandwidth issues and offline failures.

To break it down, Ring Original and V2 are battery-powered. Ring Pro is hardwired, has a slimmer design, higher resolution, a smaller field of view, but adds custom motion zones. Ring Elite is the same as Pro, but it’s a flush-mount style device and adds PoE. Ring also recommends that you have Ring Elite professionally installed.

If you don’t own an existing doorbell chime, Ring has a solution for you. Ring sells two wireless chimes including the Ring Chime and Chime Pro. Chime Pro acts as a WiFi extender in addition to a chime. Of course, you don’t need a chime at all as you will receive push notifications to your phone. If you’re an IFTTT user, you can set up other alerts. For example, you can get an alert on your TV, turn your Hue lights on, or even set up text alerts to let you know when someone’s at your door.

As mentioned earlier, I’ve owned the original Ring Doorbell for awhile, and I’ve recommended it to both friends and family members. The only problem I’ve had with it is that twice it’s lost internet connection. Unfortunately, when this happens, you have to remove the doorbell and reset it. The process takes about 15 minutes. Also, if you choose to run the device on battery power, you’ll need to take it down to recharge it. Though I’ve not tested the device using the battery, the battery should last 6-12 months. Once it dies, it takes several hours to recharge.

All that said, the problems above are great reasons to pay the extra $20 for V2. The second version of the Ring Video Doorbell features a removable battery, making the process of charging the battery a simpler one.

Ring Protect

Finally, Ring sells two non-camera products including Ring Protect. Ring Protect is Ring’s security system. You can self-monitor the system or pay for professional monitoring.

The Base Station acts as the hub, communicating with Ring’s cloud, the central monitoring center, as well as all connected devices. The Base Station is integrated with a siren, battery backup, a cellular chip, as well as ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Ring also sells a keypad, smoke listener, contact sensors, motion sensors, and a range extender or you can purchase an inclusive Protect Security Kit for $199.

What’s interesting about Ring Protect is that adding cellular backup and professional monitoring is just $10 per month. That same fee adds 60 days of cloud storage for ALL of your Ring Cameras.

Ring Beams

Ring Beams isn’t one product, but rather a group of products. Later this year, Ring will launch several outdoor security lights including spotlights, pathway lights, and deck lights. Of course, Ring already sells a Spotlight Cam and a Floodlight Cam, but the difference is Cam. Unlike the current options, Ring Beams are camera free.

Other Home Security Features

As standalone devices, all of Ring’s cameras provide unique security benefits. They also provide many of the same benefits: You can talk to visitors using two-way audio, receive motion alerts, and check-in via live streaming. But there are other security benefits they all share, some free, some not.

Cloud Storage

No matter which camera you choose, they all require a cloud storage plan if you want to access your video history. Fortunately, the monthly fee is low compared to other cloud camera options. For $3/month/camera or $30/year, you will gain access to 60 days of video history. For the Ring Doorbells, the history includes both motion and ring events. If you have several Ring cameras, you can subscribe to Protect for $10/month or $100/year. This plan covers an unlimited amount of Ring cameras and adds a lifetime product warranty versus a 1-year warranty without the Protect plan. As mentioned above, if you own a Ring Protect, the $10/month plan will also add Ring Response (24/7 professional monitoring) and cellular backup.

In addition to the features mentioned above, you will also have full control over recorded events. You can delete them at any time, or you can share them directly from the mobile app (iOS, Android, Mac or Windows 10) or the web portal.

Ring Neighborhoods

Ring Neighborhoods is a free feature aimed at connecting Ring owners. By opting in, you become part of a larger community. By setting a geofence radius around your home, you define a neighborhood. If someone within your “neighborhood” catches something suspicious, they can choose to share the footage with connected neighbors. As seen in the video above, the benefits of the program are tangible. After six months, the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilshire Park saw a 50% reduction in burglaries.

Also, you don’t have to own a Ring device to take advantage of Ring Neighborhoods. Anyone can download the Ring app to join.

Motion Scheduling

Another free security feature is motion scheduling. Using the Ring app, you can disable events during specific days or times. For example, if you’re home every weekday between 5 pm and 6 pm and don’t want your activity recorded, you can schedule the same using the mobile app. You can even have multiple rules so that the camera behaves differently on different days and times.

Multiple Doorbells, Multiple Users, Multiple Locations

If you need multiple doorbells, you can do that too. In fact, Ring recently launched a feature to make managing multiple doorbells easier. If you have multiple calls, you can now place live events on hold to answer new calls and switch between calls without hanging up.

One thing that surprised me after installing Ring Spotlight Cam was that while you can manage multiple cameras via the mobile app, they don’t work together. For example, if someone rings my Ring Doorbell, I can’t trigger Spotlight Cam to start recording. I can, however, add multiple users to help manage alerts.

Ring’s multi-user approach is smart and made smarter by a feature called Ring Locations. You can add your Ring devices to different locations. From there, you can give different access to different users. For example, at your primary home you can be a Homeowner with associated privileges. At your best friend’s home, you might be a Neighbor. Each user’s access can be customized including deciding what alerts you want to receive.

Third-Party Integrations via Ring+

Finally, you can help protect your home by integrating your Ring devices with third-party companies. We’ve already talked about the IFTTT integration, but there are others. What’s confusing about the integrations is that they aren’t universal across all platforms. For example, IFTTT only supports actions for Ring but doesn’t offer any triggers. Stringify offers both triggers and actions. Second, not all Ring products share the same integrations. The doorbell cameras, for example, work well with smart locks including those by Lockitron and Kevo but the cameras don’t work with the locks at all. Other direct integrations include ADT Pulse (uncertain pending litigation), WeMo, Lockstate, Wink, Echo Show, Echo Spot, FireTV, and Stringify.

Integrations with Ring Protect are still TBD.

Final Thoughts

From an outdoor home security perspective, I’m a big fan of what Ring is doing. The only thing that would improve their ability to protect would be the option for continuous cloud recording via Stickup Cam and perhaps some free cloud storage. However, even without continuous recording, they are capable of protecting most homes by making it seem like you’re home when you’re not thanks to smart lighting and the ability to use two-way audio in response to events. Ring is a family of products worth buying, and if you read my reviews, you know I don’t say that often.

FAQs

Q: Can you place Ring Doorbell to the side of the door where it is not forward facing? Will it only capture profiles?﻿

A: Side placement is not ideal, but it’s also not terrible. I tried to test this configuration by approaching my doorbell from a sideways angle. I was identifiable from the side (pics below), sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on how I approached the door, but in general, the farther back I stood from the camera, the more usable the footage. If you have a long approach to your door, the chances of the camera capturing usable footage will increase. I suggest buying the doorbell and testing it (using the battery) BEFORE you physically install it. If you think it will work, go for it. If not, send it back.

5 Responses to "Ring Offers Doorbells, Floodlights, and More"

10/20/2017

George Mack

At William Rashall, I’LL SEND YOU MINE… BOTH THAT THEY SENT ME!!!!! Biggest scam I have ever been taken by. 6 months, and it works about 30 seconds once per week.
Here’s the step-by-step list for anyone interested in being taken by this scam:
Step 1 pay the $249+ to get the flood light
Step 2 Pay electrician $85-125) to hook it up correctly
Step 3 hook up and find out your internet isn’t strong enough.
Step 4 pay more for your internet
Step 5 contact ring, inform them you are now paying for higher speed net
Step 6 prepare for them to send you a “enhancer chime”
Step 7 plug in chime when it arrives and find out it still won’t work and/or that it is NOT recommended by their tech support
Step 8 upgrade your cell phone, recommended by ring
Step 9 find out it doesn’t matter/help
Step 10 get strung along by “tech support” each time it fails
Step 11 after 5 months of duplicate devices being shipped, lots of bizarre explanations as to why it might not be working you give up
Step 12 start the long process of getting your money back from these scam artists
Step 13, post detailed reviews of the scam on sites like…. this.

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